The Mountains and Rivers Sutra is one of 93 essays of Dogen, the great 13th century Zen Master, collected in a work called, The Shobogenzo. "Shobogenzo" means, "Treasury of the True Dharma Eye." Dogen's essay expressing the reality of the enlightened mind in the poetic natural imagery of his time is a classic of spiritual literature and an essential text for deep Zen practice to this day.

In these talks given at the Upaya Zen Center in 2012, Norman Fischer presents Dogen's medieval essay in language understandable to us in the 21st century and gives us a rich commentary on how to apply these principles in our daily lives.

The talks are divided into 52 short sections as a weekly guide, with each accompanied by practice suggestions by Kuya Minogue. They originally appeared in this serial format in a long-running local Canadian newspaper column, and have been collected here along with some reflections by fellow Zen practitioners.